Hockeyroos thrash PNG 23-0 in Oceania Cup

Emily Smith and Kathryn Slattery have scored five goals each in the Hockeyroos' 23-0 drubbing of Papua New Guinea in the Oceania Cup tournament in Sydney.

UpdatedUpdated 12 October 2017

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The Hockeyroos have opened their Oceania Cup campaign with a 23-0 wipeout of minnows Papua New Guinea.

Emily Smith led the onslaught on Thursday night with five field goals in her first outing since last month's appointment as captain, and prolific scorer Kathryn Slattery also starred with five of her own.

Grace Stewart chipped in with a hat-trick, while Gabi Nance, Maddy Fitzpatrick and Renee Taylor added a brace each in Sydney.

The dominant performance from world No.5 Australia sets up a mouth-watering clash with world No.6 New Zealand on Saturday before Sunday's final.

The NZ Black Sticks hammered PNG 30-0 on Wednesday.

It was one-way traffic from the start on Thursday at the hockey centre in Homebush, beginning with Taylor converting a penalty corner in just the second minute.

The field goals poured in at a steady rate thereafter, including two long-range efforts from Nance as the team raced out to a 6-0 quarter-time lead.

PNG stemmed the tide somewhat at the start of the second quarter, thanks largely to a handful of reflex saves by goalkeeper Taita Roama.

Alice Fred even drew a bronx cheer when PNG headed downfield for a rare opportunity.

But the hosts didn't take long to find their groove and took an 11-0 halftime lead from Slattery's hat-trick and Smith's first-half double.

The main break did not halt the Hockeyroos' momentum with Brooke Peris ensuring the scoreboard ticked over less than a minute after resumption.

Smith refused to allow her team to let up with a third-quarter double, while Kaitlin Nobbs converted a penalty stroke in a seven-goal period.

Kristina Bates and Kate Hanna added their names to the scoresheet in the final quarter, taking the team's total goalscorers to 10.

Hockeyroos coach Paul Gaudoin was pleased with his team's approach against PNG but said they needed to lift their passing and corner efficiency against New Zealand.

"Our girls did what we asked them to do today - to be smart, respectful but also to play the game in the right spirit," he said.

"I think we did that reasonably well today and got through unscathed.

"I think we were a little bit lax with our passing in terms of the accuracy and specificity of those. That's going to be important and we need to make sure we finish our chances.

"That's going to be really important against a very good New Zealand team."

Source AAP

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